Sunday, January 27, 2008

"The Wind that Shakes the Barley"

I must say, I am not quite sure in how to approach this particular blog, but I will do my best. The film was, for what it was, engaging and even enjoyable at times, if in a morbid sort of way. The film succeeded in attracting my attention toward the plight of the Irish almost a century ago, and I can certainly understand important parallels at work in the world today. The saddening, gloomy overcast of the entire movie truly hits you early on, with the tortured death of the characters' friend. This short scene truly sets up the presentation of the British throughout the movie, as I found them to be comically loud and annoying when they weren't bashing in someone's teeth with the butt of an Enfield. It certainly made me despise the British for a short while, which, I imagine, was part of the purpose. The ideas of split loyalties over minor discrepancies in treaties and over family (and many other things of this sort, etc., etc.) certainly play upon the emotions throughout the story. I found one of the most powerful scenes in the first half of the film to be Teddy's stand before the British landowner, only days after having his fingernails ripped out. He stood with nobility and spoke with power and conviction, even in his threats. I respected this, and the entirety of the movie's presentation. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is a powerful, sad movie about human prejudices, terrible mistakes, and wasted lives.